The present invention relates to a card identifying apparatus that identifies the validity of cards such as, for example, bills, coupons, gift certificates and the like having the exchange value (economic value) for various kinds of products and service.
Generally, the cards such as bills, coupons, gift certificates and like are provided with various anti-counterfeit measures to prevent forgery. For example, as one of such anti-counterfeit measures, it is carried out providing a microprint (extremely fine characters, pattern and the like), reading the information of this microfilm to compare with genuine data, and thereby identifying (authentication judgment) the validity. In other words, such a microprint has fine line widths, and thereby is known to exhibit a specific pattern (moire fringes; moire pattern) by interference of light, and it is carried out obtaining the moire fringes (moire pattern) to compare with authorized data, and thereby identifying the validity of the card.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-78620 discloses techniques for forming a hidden pattern comprised of a parallel line tint in an information storage member as the card, and irradiating the hidden pattern using a light source, while detecting the reflected light via a confirmation pattern (a parallel line pattern for confirmation is formed) by a photosensor. In this case, the photosensor is capable of sensing a specific moire pattern by interference of the parallel light tint of the hidden pattern and the parallel light tint of the confirmation pattern, and an authentication judgment on the card is made by comparing the moire pattern with a standard pattern.
In the above-mentioned authentication judgment processing, the genuine comparison data (standard pattern) is moire data obtained via the photosensor by the confirmation pattern and the hidden pattern interfering with each other, and the moire data is generated based on image data such that all the regions where the confirmation pattern and the hidden pattern interfere with each other are captured. Therefore, the data amount of the moire data increases, and a problem arises that the processing speed of the authentication judgment decreases.
Accordingly, a card identifying apparatus is required that enhances the processing speed for the authentication judgment in performing the authentication judgment processing using a microprint formed in the card.